Thursday, April 13, 2017

Old vs. New Horror Movie Remakes Boogeymen Edition

Hi everyone I'm Jack Red, today I will be doing another series of quick horror movie comparisons. There are more than enough classic horror movies that truly stand the test of time. Every horror movie fan has their own personal favorites. Of course as time goes on Hollywood puts out remakes of those classics. A good number of them aren't great with some being absolutely terrible. I decided to do what I'm calling the Boogeymen line up. This will make more sense as this blog goes on. I been wanting to cover some of these personally for a while.

Round 1: A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) vs. A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)
Possibly one of the scariest concepts to ever become an horror movie. The very thought of going to sleep to end up dead instead of waking up. This movie by Wes Craven called A Nightmare on Elm Street scared so many people. In fact more people recently watching it are just as scared as those 80s kids. A dead man constantly stalking teens in their dreams is already a scary concept. Of course I love one of Craven's finest movies. More recently there was a remake of the same name. Some clear changes really set off a lot of people including myself.

The best version of A Nightmare on Elm Street is 1984 version
Let's be honest this was mostly no contest. Out of all the remakes I'm doing today this one does one of the biggest mistakes imaginable. A Nightmare on Elm Street remake tried recreating a lot of classic scenes to end up ruining them. Don't get me wrong I actually like Jackie Earle Haley doing Freddy. Sadly that was the only good thing following all the bad stuff. Most characters come off incredibly boring. All the death scenes especially those copying what happened in the original movie sucks. In comparison every death scene was done just right in the original. Easily the better soundtrack that fits most of the scenes. Also Robert Englund not only nailed Freddy perfectly. He kept doing the character up til Freddy vs. Jason. Even in the worst of those movies his portrayal of the characters always stands out. Hell Englund got to be Freddy hosting Freddy Nightmares show too. I am sorry folks but I really didn't care for 2010 version at all. What really set me off was personal changes to Freddy's character. I would go into details about it but I prefer to just leave it alone.

Winner: A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

Round 2: Halloween (1978) vs. Halloween (2007)
Many consider John Carpenter's Halloween the beginning of the slasher genre. This was the movie to inspire many great horror movies including Friday the 13th. More recently the musician/director Rob Zombie remade Halloween. Despite some similarities these are surprisingly different movies. Regardless Halloween will always be remembered for not only kick starting the slasher genre. Possibly an candidate for one of the greatest holiday theme horror movies ever made.

The best version of Halloween is 1978 version
I like in 2007 version we get to see how Michael became the way he is. I also liked Brad Dourif best known as Child's Play' Chucky as Sheriff. I felt characters overall worked better in the original movie. I will give credit to the new Michael Myers for looking more menacing. Both do feature some great kills for their time. 1978 version had a more rememberable Dr. Loomis. I didn't care much for 2007 version of Dr. Loomis. I felt the original actor actually got us to believe he deeply cared for Michael. I didn't see that in 2007 version of the same character. I felt greatly editing down Michael's child hood would've help this movie out a lot. Easily one of the most annoying characters in all of Halloween franchise is kid Michael. On one hand you felt sorry for how his family treated him. On the other just the way how Michael eventually started killing. Very close before we start seeing that, we get some okay & unneeded parts. Such as him killing a bully from school in the woods. A rape scene while he was in his room within the hospital. Now was it so necessary to have that in your movie? Both have a good soundtrack but I prefer the original Halloween theme. I mean come on who the hell doesn't love that theme? It not only works but also puts chills down your spine. Yes I do prefer 2007 version mask but there is just something odd about the original mask. Obviously it was an altered Will Shatner mask but it seems to work better in the dark. Some scenes are present in both versions with clear changes. Majority of them are simply better in the original version.

Winner: Halloween (1978)

Round 3: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) vs. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)
A real serial killer named Ed Gein inspired several movies. Such as Silence of the Lambs, Psycho and my favorite The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Back in theaters many people simply couldn't stomach it. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was seemingly so realistic for it's time. Possibly one of the scariest movies ever made. Now I'm excluding The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation from this comparison. The team wasn't sure to make it a sequel or remake. Therefore due to confusion in what it should be. I won't consider it at all but thankfully there actually is a real remake. More recently we get possibly one of the best horror movie remakes ever made.

The best version of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is 2003 version
This will surprise a lot of people just let me explain. Yes both of these movies are great for their time. You could argue the beginning slow pace of 2003 version. However we ended up getting more brutal kills. An very great looking Leatherface that could scare a lot of people. Most of Leatherface's family doesn't stand out in both versions. I still want to credit one of my favorite characters in this franchise. Charlie Hewitt Jr. aka Sheriff Hoyt is amazing. This guy basically steals the show in every sense of the word. I also like we get to see more inside Leatherface's house in 2003 version. Let's be honest two amazing actors plays Leatherface very good. Personally I prefer slightly more Andrew Bryniarski's portrayal more. Close to half way through on both versions is where they get very good. In the end I love both of them with a passion as a long time horror movie fan. This is one of the rare cases I'm picking the remake.

Winner: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)

Round 4: Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981) vs. Friday the 13th (2009)
You all knew I had to do Friday the 13th. One of many classic horror movie series inspired by Carpenter's Halloween. It all started with the original Friday the 13th. Although Jason getting introduced in Friday the 13th Part 2 ends up getting massive attention. More recently there is a loose remake. Thankfully this movie has it's own story but took key elements from the first three movies. Technically speaking the new version is more of a remake of Part 2 than the original movie. Regardless I do recommend both of these movies.

The best Friday the 13th movie is Friday the 13th (2009)
This may upset a lot of Friday the 13th fans. I do enjoy watching Friday the 13th Part 2 a lot. Especially more than some of the movies. I couldn't over look how good Friday the 13th remake actually was. It is even rare for a remake to have a better cast than the original. I like this new Jason using his head like a pro hunter turned into serial murder. Yes guarantee this would make that Jason not faithful to the original movies. But considering Jason was in majority of them sucking bad with some exceptions. We kinda needed a new fresh take on the character. Very great death scenes that already some of the finest in the series. Both do have a good soundtrack but they quickly went right into doing Part 2. Just like Halloween 2 did many years later having the same exact problem. They wanted to cash in on Jason as soon as possible. Although this movie was far better than Halloween 2. Friday the 13th 2009 version took it's time for a reason. They knew people wanted Jason but felt it needed to be done justice. This is exactly why we got this remake in the first place. I am not saying Part 2 is terrible by any means. It does out do the original in many ways. The suspense was ultimately done better in the remake. For example a police officer comes to a cabin. Just when some people inside were about to open the door. Jason comes out of no where & kills the cop just as quickly. Now we need more of that within Friday the 13th movies. Huge points in giving Jason his famous hockey mask.

Winner: Friday the 13th (2009)

Round 5: Evil Dead (1981) vs. Evil Dead (2013)
Originally one of director Sam Raimi's first movies. He had to constantly get more money to make Evil Dead. This is still one of the creepiest movies I ever seen. After getting two movie sequels the franchise got put on hold for many years. More recently a remake got made taking a surprisingly different turn on the concept. I also recommend both of these movies especially if you don't get scare easily. Based on what I heard this particular original vs. remake topic is still heated today.

The best version of Evil Dead is 1981 version
This was very close for many reasons. I could argue back & forward between several things. I do prefer the cast of 2013 version. Remember this Ash of the original movie isn't the bad ass character we all know & love today. I felt most death scenes in the 1981 version were great for their time. Both do tell a good story sharing some things in common. The two key reasons why I prefer the original Evil Dead movie. First some of what you see later in the movie was real accidents kept in. The actors were all doing drugs according to Bruce Campbell himself. The big reason has to be the deadnites themselves. Yes I do like in 2013 version their eyes are bright red evil eyes. I felt 1981 version went the extra mile of terrifying us. The real deadnite eyes are those of dead people with no color. They appear more dead, disturbing and creepy all at the same time. Now yes I should mention both do share the famous tree rape scene. However in 2013 version with help from Mia's brother. She comes back to life free from being possessed by them. This particular moment in the original movie occurs in the second Evil Dead movie. Which continues the events of the first movie directly after it ended. Considering 2013 version didn't take much from that particular movie. I can't simply bring it in this comparison. I will say deadnites are way more convincing in 1981 version. I do like in both versions we get to see the cabin. Both movies has strange endings even among horror movies. Also keep in mind there isn't as much comedy as in later movies & Ash vs. Evil Dead. I felt Ash do stand out late in the 1981 version. There was much more suspense in the 1981 version too. Finally let's talk about the famous book of the dead itself. I do like 2013 version of it actually looks like real flesh bonded on it. I still do prefer the original design over it for many reasons. Well look at that creep face on the book. The pictures inside of it are very evil indeed. This particular design is so evil & twisted even by today's standards. I also like you have to burn the deadnites in 2013 version to free their souls. But not having that in the original book does make it even more terrifying in the long run.